Mozambique

A former Portuguese colony, the Republic of Mozambique is situated on Southern Africa's largest coastal plain, occupying the south-eastern seaboard of Africa from the Rovuma river mouth to the South African border. It is bounded by Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Swaziland and by the Indian Ocean. Although most people still live in rural areas, urbanisation is increasing at a high rate. All of the major rivers tend to flood in the wet season, like the Zambezi, causing widespread damage to crops, roads, bridges, as well as losses of human life and livestock. Mozambique has an extensive coastline stretching over 2470 km. Corals form offshore reefs along about 30 % of the coastline.